Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Sites that Offer Free Blog Templates!

Now that you have your Blog Name and have started to post, it is time to find a template.  I think that having a nice template is just as important as the content of your blog. You may not want to put out any money just yet if you are new to blogging, so I found some sites that offer free templates.  Once your site is established and you decide you are going to stick with it, these sites also offer customized templates.  These sites really have nice templates, for free!  Check them out!

1. Blogger Templates



2. A Blog To Brag About

A Blog to Brag About


3. April Showers Blog Design
Photobucket


4. The Posh Box Web Design

The Posh Box Web and Blog Designs

5. Leelou Blogs

Leelou Blogs

Friday, October 8, 2010

Choosing the name for your Blog

As simple as it may seem, choosing the name of your blog is not always an easy task.  When I started blogging about a month ago I started out with one name and have changed that name 2 times.  I thought I had it together but, I guess not. 


Here are some things I did once I had decided what I wanted the name of my blog to be:


1. I did a domain search to make sure that what I have chosen was not already in use, just in case I wanted to have a host site in the future.  So I went to Go Daddy to see if the name I had chosen was already used.  If it is, Go Daddy gives great examples of alternate names that you may like. 


2. I also realized that the blog publishing tools, like Blogger, may have someone using the name that you have chosen.  Yeah, it happened to me:(  So it's back to the drawing board to find something else.


3. I checked Google Keyword Tool Box, which is a great tool to use if you want to use a name that is going to drive traffic to your site.  Driving traffic seems to be what you need in order to make money from your blog site.  The tool box has a keyword tool and traffic esimator search, which is really cool.  These searches will give you an idea of how much traffic may come to your site based on the words in your blog name.

I did all these things to come up with a name for my blog.  It really took me a couple days to come up with a name that I thought captured what I would be blogging about.  I had to do some brainstorming with the help of my husband.  Once, I found what I liked I went through all the channels I listed to make sure the name was not used by anyone else.  Goodluck on your name finding search!

Thursday, October 7, 2010

My Blogging Journey

My blogging journey has been a short one, but I have found out so much in this little time.  One day my mother suggested that I start blogging, so I dived right in and have been doing it every since.  I actually set up a blog with Blogger back in 2009 but only did a couple of posts.  Now, that I am actively blogging I will try to give you the information that I have gathered and continue to gather to help you along your journey as well.

My next post will be about: Choosing a Blogger Name